How 'bout that, fanfiction? I actually UPDATED for once! Shocker, right? Bah. Well, this is one of the only stories that I'm actually typing before writing out the whole thing on notebook paper. I have the outline, I just needed to flesh it out. So I was experiencing a mild case of *shudders* writers block.
Anyhow, I'm gonna tell you that an unlikely friendship will arise in this chapter. It's gonna be so much fun!
Alright, now reviews:
FrittzyCrazy- Here's the update! Hope you like this chapter, too!
Callister the Great- Yes, he's trying but probably not as hard as he could. *Glares at Brainy* But I'm glad you like it!
EmmiBrooke- You know, a lot of people have been saying that Thoughtful's cute. I'm glad you guys think so! And I'm not gonna tell who Thoughtful is gonna love. At least, not yet! ;)
frostforge44- heehee. Yeah, I'm a slow typer. So sorry. I guess Brainy's warming up a little bit. Could be better. If you want to smack him upside the head, you're welcome to do so.
Brainy: WHY IS EVERYONE BEATING UP ON ME?
Cuz you deserve it. Yes, Gutsy should've known, the silly boy. Thankfully he didn't hurt Thoughtful. He just needs to be more careful *looks pointedly in Gutsy's direction*. And yes, you'll see why Thoughtful keeps freezing up. It's all gonna be explained later on.
Chloe- Brainy doesn't listen to a lot of good advice, does he? Silly. I'm happy you liked the last chapter and I hope you'll like this one just as much! Maybe Painter is working on a masterpiece just for you!
Spring-Heel-Jacq- I'm glad I have your attention. I'm not gonna give away who Thoughtful's love interest will be, but I will say it's not Gutsy! (Crafty would KILL me!) I know, people always write about Tracker like he's a huge jerk! That's totally untrue! He's so sweet! Hanna-Barbera and Peyo were working together for the cartoon series, so Tracker would be considered a Peyo Smurf while Gutsy would not. To me, the Smurfs were created by Peyo, so everything remotely Smurfy belongs to Peyo. I mean, come on, without Peyo, there would be no Smurfs.
If Jokey doesn't have a squeaky voice, how would you describe it? I couldn't say rough because it's not really. Squeaky was the closest word I could get.
You'd be surprised. Greedy and Lazy are seen together a lot if you think about it. I dunno, maybe I'm the only one who thinks that they are. I think Painter and Poet are better friends than they realize, because they can relate to each other. As for Brainy being out of character, you have to remember that he still thinks Thoughtful was created by Gargamel. He's not allowing himself to trust her.
Yup, this is before Nanny and Clockwork Smurfette were introduced. My timing with the characters may be a little off, since I don't like writing about characters who I don't know very well. For example, I've seen a grand total of one episode with Clockwork Smurfette and I really don't know that much about her. Same with Nanny. I don't feel that I know them well enough to actually put them into my stories. Thank you for your constructive criticism and I hope I've done a bit better in this chapter.
ALERT- This story had been plotted out in June of 2012. Every similarity is coincidental and I guarantee that I copied off of no one. Everything with the exception of Gutsy is based off of the cartoons.
Anyway, this time it's the Smurflings doing the disclaimer. Have at it, guys!
Snappy: Smurfaroo! Thoughtful and Fringe belong to Reubenizadorables625, or Benny.
Sassette: Us Smurfs belong to Peyo!
With no further ado, enjoy chapter 4.
Thoughtful blinked open her eyes, squinting at the bright sun blocked by six lumpy shapes. With a small scream, she scrambled backwards against the headboard of her bed.
As her eyes adjusted, the shapes focused into six Smurfs staring straight at her. The Smurfs, specifically Papa, Tracker, and the Smurflings, withdrew to give the startled Smurfette her space.
"Are you smurfy, Thoughtful?" Papa asked, worry etched in his kindly face.
She sat up, rubbing at her eyes. Slouchy handed Thoughtful her glasses and she put them on, the blurry outlines of the Smurfs becoming clear. "Just fine, thank you. Why do you smurf?"
"You sounded like you were having smurfmares," Tracker commented.
The raven-haired Smurfette looked at her clasped hands, trying to remember if she'd had bad dreams. Nothing came to mind. "I did? I can't remember having any."
"Tossin' turtles, Thoughtful. You were thrashin' around like you were being attacked." Sassette piped up.
"I was?" Thoughtful didn't like forgetting things. Especially since the list of things she was forgetting was growing steadily longer. And trying to remember was making her head hurt. "Well, I'm ok now." Her tone of voice made it clear to the other Smurfs that the conversation was over, though Papa and Tracker still looked concerned.
"Get up, Thoughtful!" Snappy urged. "We wanna show you something!" A chorus of agreement rose from the other Smurflings.
The feathered Smurfette tossed off the blankets and planted her feet in the floor. "What do you want to smurf me?"
The Smurflings grabbed her arms and dragged her out the mushroom door and down the path. They then ran ahead, calling back to her to hurry up.
When she finally caught up to them, all four sets of eyes were fixed on a structure in front of them on a small hill. Thoughtful gasped in delight.
On the hill was a stone path leading up to a newly built mushroom. The base was jet black with the cap a pure white. The chimney shone golden in color. A short white fence stood around the mushroom, secured deep in the lush grass.
"Oh my smurf…" Thoughtful breathed.
"Handy was up all night making it for you," Nat said with a huge grin.
"Let's go see the inside!" Sassette prodded, already traveling up the stone path. Thoughtful and the other Smurflings followed her.
"Handy?" Thoughtful called, peeking in the doorway. The building Smurf was nowhere to be seen. Thoughtful came in all the way, the Smurflings trailing her.
So far, the entire room was empty save for a fireplace. Through the windows cut into the curved walls, square patches of light streamed in from the outside. The floor was made of strips of what smelled like fresh cut pine and was covered in a thin layer of sawdust. Nothing was painted, giving the house a cozy feeling. What smurfy craftsmurfship! Glancing around a bit more, Thoughtful's eyes were drawn to an ornate set of spiraling stairs leading up into the mushroom cap.
She ascended to another room, this one a fair bit smaller than the ground floor. It was bright and open with a high ceiling and just one furnishing. A simple wooden bed with a feather carved in to the headboard. Slumped against the bed frame with his hammer still in his hand, was Handy, snoring his head off.
Thoughtful clamped a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles. Silly Smurf. "Handy. Wake up," she said, kneeling down beside him and shaking his shoulders. His eyes opened halfway and slid to her.
"Thoughtful!" The inventor leaped up, embarrassed that he'd been caught. His eyes were now wide and his cheeks had flushed. "I… I was just~"
"It's ok, Handy," Thoughtful smiled reassuringly at the flustered Smurf.
He calmed down a bit, releasing tension in his shoulders. "I was up all night smurfing your new mushroom, and~"
"The Smurflings told me," Thoughtful said.
"Well? How do you like it?"
With this question, Thoughtful got off the floor and threw her arms around Handy's neck. "It's absolutely smurfy! Thank you so much!"
Handy went limp in her arms, as if all his bones had turned to mush. Thoughtful released him and looked at the incapacitated smurf, confused. "Are you alright?"
"Smurfy," the builder murmured from his sprawled position on the floor.
The feathered Smurfette helped him off his tail. "It IS smurfy, Handy. But you need to sleep, too. Get some rest, ok?"
He nodded in reply, seemingly mute. Thoughtful thanked him again, waved a goodbye and headed out of the mushroom.
Thoughtful walked along the paths again, memorizing the location of every mushroom and building. Like, the mushroom with the red ribbon hanging out of the windows was Jokey's. And the one with the completely pink outside and surrounded by flowers was Smurfette's. And that one was obviously the Smurflings', with the swing outside. Soon, she had a mental map of everything in the village. And with that done, she had nothing else to do.
Boring. Thoughtful glanced around for something interesting. All the Smurfs were going about, doing their daily chores. Greedy was putting some cakes out to cool, Vanity was polishing his mirror, Hefty was lifting his weights. The only Smurf she could see that wasn't doing anything was Lazy, but he was fast asleep, leaning against a mushroom. Nobody seemed to need any help.
Suddenly, she noticed something. I know the village, the feathered Smurfette thought, but I DON'T know the forest yet.
Thoughtful felt a prick of doubt. Should I do it alone, or should I ask somesmurf to come with me? All the Smurfs she could see were busy doing other things. She didn't want to distract anyone from their work. Finally, she decided, No. I'll smurf it alone.
She traveled into the trees without a second thought.
Thoughtful liked the forest. It was so quiet compared to the constant din of the Smurf Village. The only sounds were the wind rustling the leaves and the soft birdsong. She tried to copy their melodies, only succeeding to scare the birds away.
She didn't know how long she'd been walking, but soon, the raven-haired Smurfette came to a break in the trees. An old, sad-looking stone hovel sat on a hill.
"How strange," She said aloud. "Who would want to smurf a house here?" It was surrounded by a swampy moat and smelled strongly of mildew. "I suppose I should go and see. Perhaps they're friends of the Smurfs."
Thoughtful walked somewhat hesitantly towards the rickety building, glancing around every so often. She didn't know why, but a sense of dread was overcoming her with every step towards the building. Smurf out of it, Thoughtful, She scolded herself. You're being smurfanoid. But she still wanted to turn tail and run.
Thoughtful found herself at the walls of the old house, craning her neck to look in a window. Leaping on top of the sill, she peeked inside.
The interior of the house was as gloomy as the exterior, if not gloomier. The whole thing spelled 'dejected', with uneven wooden shelves, items strewn about, and furniture knocked to the ground. The only evidence that this place was occupied was the pot of water steaming in the fire.
The sunlight from behind the feathered Smurfette was suddenly blocked and she spun around with a gasp. There was a human male standing behind her, clothed in dark robes and red pants. He was tall by a Smurf's standards, but he didn't stand up straight, so he must have been taller. He was obviously aged, seeing as he was balding on top. Thoughtful shuddered at the ugly sneer his even uglier face was giving off. It didn't take Brainy to know that this man was NOT a friend of the Smurfs.
Smurf it, Thoughtful's eyes darted around, looking for a possible escape route. Her brain was running a mile a minute, but the only thought that came to mind was, I should've brought another Smurf with me.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The grotesque human smirked. "I've never seen a Smurf like you before." Before Thoughtful could move, he had picked her up and was holding her to his face. The inside of his palms were hot and sweaty. And he stank like a wet skunk in a slime patch.
"Why," He reached forward with his other hand to rub a strand of Thoughtful's black hair in between his fingers. "You're a Smurfette! But I didn't create you. Perhaps those sniveling Smurfs did."
I have to get out of here.
"Oh well. A Smurfette would probably taste better in Smurf stew." The old man let out a harsh laugh and Thoughtful felt her skin crawl. Oh my smurf! He's going to EAT me!
He carried her inside the old hovel, cackling like a mad man. The raven-haired Smurfette felt panic threaten to overcome her, but she beat it back. Stay calm. He'll have to let you go sooner or later. Though her thought wasn't very assuring.
"Where's that imbecile Azrael? Bother it all…" and the dark man started grumbling something that Thoughtful couldn't make out. He marched over and threw her in a crudely made wooden cage. "You're lucky I'm not hungry right now, Smurfette. But I'm sure I will be," he laughed again, almost giddily, "after my nap!"
He crawled into a bed in the far corner of the room. "Don't go anywhere," and more laughter. Soon, he was snoring, off in whatever kind of crazed dreamland he went to.
Thoughtful immediately started looking for a way out of the cage, but the latch was too high for her to reach and the bars were too close together to slip out of.
Suddenly, a wooden spoon caught her eyes. It wasn't too far away from the cage to reach if she stretched. Maybe she could use it to flip the latch open.
Leaning out of the cage, Thoughtful strained her arm as far as it could go, but her blue fingertips barely brushed the rounded end. She tried again, succeeding in getting a hold in the wood. Trying to maintain her small grip and pulling backwards on the spoon was hard work, but she soon got it close enough to pick it up.
Now, if I can just… Heaving upward, Thoughtful righted the spoon so it was vertical. Take it slowly… Unbalanced, getting the spoon under the latch was tough, but it caught and, with a push upward, flipped open.
Thoughtful accidentally lost her grip on the spoon and it clattered back onto the table. The man in bed started, disturbed. Thoughtful waited tensely for him to come and recapture her, but he just rolled over and went back to sleep.
She let out a breath of relief, crawling to the edge of the table and leaping off, landing on the stone floor with no sound. It's all downhill from here.
She never heard him coming.
Thoughtful was knocked to the ground and a large pressure was put on her stomach. She was staring into the glowing yellow eyes of a ferocious looking orange tabby. He leaned in close to her face and growled, obviously not ready or willing to let her go.
But as the cat opened his mouth to bite down on her, Thoughtful saw his orange fur turning gray. The cat was shrinking, becoming less frightening and more like a kitten.
She and the cat were suddenly sitting on a rock outcropping. She was gently stroking the kitten, settled in close to its warm gray fur, completely relaxed. The kitten turned to Thoughtful and meowed something, and she apparently understood, because she meowed an answer.
And then, the cold hard stone was biting into her back again and she was staring down the gullet of the tabby. Her tongue felt loosened and she screamed, "I am your friend!"
The tabby halted his attack, completely astounded that this blue creature had spoken to him in his own language. "Impossible," He growled back. "You are a Smurf. Actually a Smurfette, by the smell of you."
Thoughtful started to calm once she felt the weight of the paw on her middle lift the tiniest bit. "Yes, I am a Smurfette, but I can speak cat."
"The red one taught you." The cat sniffed disbelievingly.
"Have you seen me before, good cat?" Thoughtful tried to reason with him.
"Not before today, Smurfette."
"When was the last time you saw the Smurfs?"
"Three sunrises ago." The tabby replied, starting to piece together what Thoughtful was trying to say.
"Enough time to teach me the whole cat language, do you think?"
The cat gave a half smile. "No."
"If you let me go, I will not run," Thoughtful smiled up at the now less-threatening cat. He murmured an agreement and lifted his paw from her body. Thoughtful stood and brushed off her clothes. "Thank you, good cat. My name is Thoughtful."
"My master calls me Azrael." The orange feline replied. Azrael? She thought. Hadn't the dark man said something about Azrael before he put her in the cage?
"That's your master?" She asked, pointing to the sleeping form of the man.
Azrael laughed. "HE thinks so."
"What is his name?"
"He calls himself Gargamel."
The name couldn't be more stupid in Thoughtful's opinion. "Why the smurf does he call himself that?"
"His mother named him. Utterly ridiculous if you ask me."
Gargamel thrashed in the bed, muttering something about Smurfs. The raven-haired Smurfette tensed, ready to flee, but the man settled again.
"If you please, good cat, I would like to get back to the forest. May I ask which way is out?"
Azrael liked the way this new Smurfette spoke to him. Not in fear, like others of her kind, and not in hatred, like Gargamel. She was respectful to him, talking in a polite manner. As much as he disliked her species, Azrael had a bit of fondness for this one. "If you would like to get on my back, I should show you where there is a weak spot in the stone." He leaned down, allowing the feathered Smurfette to climb on.
Thoughtful hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to accept the offer or run. Though this cat seemed friendly enough, when he wasn't trying to eat her, she still had doubts.
But she found herself on Azrael's back, right behind his shoulders. His fur was surprisingly slippery and Thoughtful had to grip it tightly so she wouldn't fall off. The tabby walked around in a circle so the Smurfette on his back could adjust to the movement, then headed towards the doors. Veering to the left, though, Azrael slid through a hole in the stone, hidden by a large table. It was a tight fit. Thoughtful's toes brushed against the sides and she nervously tucked them in.
The light at the other end couldn't come too soon. Both creatures slid into daylight again.
"I am going to run now, Smurfette," Azrael mewed behind him.
"Do as you must." She replied, gripping his fur tighter. The orange cat broke into a sprint, quickly disappearing into the shade of the trees.
After a minute or two, Azrael halted. "Can you find your way back from here, Smurfette?"
Thoughtful slid off the tom's back, relief filling her as her feet touched solid ground again. "I believe so, thank you good cat. But you really can call me Thoughtful Smurfette."
Azrael shook his head. "You are not really a Smurfette. More like a kitty than a Smurf. Come visit me if you want, Kitty Smurfette. I like talking to you."
Thoughtful beamed widely at Azrael's nickname for her. "I will try, Azrael. Goodbye."
"Goodbye," Azrael turned and trotted back the way he came, tail held high with happiness.
Thoughtful felt giddy. I made a friend who's a cat! And I can SPEAK cat! How smurfy!
"Thoughtful?"
A rough, familiar voice met her ears and she looked over her shoulder. "Hefty!" She exclaimed when she noticed the muscle Smurf standing behind her. Papa, Gutsy, Smurfette, Brainy, and Greedy were there too. "Hello. Were you looking for me?"
"We thought you'd been captured by Gargamel!" Papa said, concerned.
Thoughtful smiled reassuringly. "No. I just went for a walk." She didn't want Papa to worry about her and the fact that she and Azrael were speaking may drive him to forbid her from going to visit him.
The red-clad Smurf glanced at the sky, only barely visible between the trees leaves. It was now a dark orange. "We'd better smurf back to the village now that we've found you, Thoughtful."
Papa glanced behind him again. The new Smurfette was falling behind the group. I wonder if something's the matter. Papa slowed his step until he was walking beside Thoughtful. "Thoughtful? Is everything smurfy?"
The raven-haired Smurfette didn't answer right away. She diverted her gaze into the trees, hands clasped behind her back. After a long silence, she asked, "Is it hard to care for so many Smurfs, Papa?"
The bearded elder raised an eyebrow. THAT had nothing to do with the conversation. "Well, I guess it IS tough sometimes. But I don't mind." Thoughtful was quiet now, looking at the ground and seemingly not listening to him. Papa gave a small smile. Thoughtful seems to have a wandering mind.
They reached the village just as night was falling. Thoughtful let out a yawn. Oh, that's right. I had another vision today. I suppose I have to sleep now. With the excitement of talking with Azrael, she'd forgotten about it.
Papa noticed her tired expression and said, "Brainy, do you think you can walk Thoughtful back to her mushroom?"
The spectacled Smurf rolled his eyes, but agreed, though Thoughtful was certain it was less reluctantly than before. He walked a pace or two in front of her, looking backwards every so often to see if she was still following.
They arrived at her mushroom and Brainy opened the door for her, though he didn't go inside. "Thank you, Brainy," Thoughtful said, giving him a small hug around the neck. Then, without another glance, she closed the door. If she had left it ajar for a few more seconds, she would've seen the pink hue spreading over Brainy's cheeks.
Thoughtful climbed the steps to her bedroom, barely able to keep her eyelids apart. When she entered the top floor, she realized that Tailor had been hard at work sewing her a mattress and bedcovers. It looks so inviting. Thoughtful took off her glasses and put them on the floor next to her bed, then crawled under the covers in her clothes. Within half a minute, she was sound asleep.
Heehee! Betcha never saw THAT coming, Thoughtful's friendship with Azrael. By the way, writing in italics is when the character is thinking, and italics with quotation marks is when the character is conversing with an animal.
Bonus points to whoever guesses why Handy painted Thoughtful's house the way he did!
